The present invention relates to structures by which objects may be located or supported along a substrate.
Laminated tape structures including a central layer of polymeric film or foam with layers of adhesive on its opposite major surfaces (e.g., the tape structures sold under the trade designations xe2x80x9cWallsaver Removable poster tapexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9c3M Automotive attachment Tapexe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9c3M Acrylic Foam Tapexe2x80x9d by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn.) have been used to bond the opposed surfaces of two objects together, such as to bond a wall hanging such as a poster, plaque, or a picture to a wall. When such a tape structure in which the adhesive is a high tack pressure sensitive adhesive (e.g., the xe2x80x9c3M Acrylic Foam Tapexe2x80x9d mentioned above) is used for that purpose, it is often difficult to later separate the objects. The tape structure is positioned in a very narrow area between the objects where it is not readily accessible, particularly when the tape structure is between a rigid wall hanging and a wall. Typically, an attempt is made to either slice the tape structure in half between its outer surfaces with a knife or similar implement poked between the objects, or one object (e.g., a wall hanging) is twisted on or pulled from the other object (e.g., a wall), often resulting in damage to one or both of the objects.
Laminated structures are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,137 (Frye) that include outer attachment layers having opposite major surfaces defined by pressure sensitive adhesive that can be adhered to the opposed surfaces of closely spaced objects so that the laminated structures support one object from the other, and a separable layer of non-fusible porous material such as tissue paper between the outer attachment layers that can be separated by an outward exertion on one of the outer attachment layers away from the other.
Attachment strips having opposite major surfaces at least partially defined by pressure sensitive adhesive have been developed that can be used to bond objects together, and can subsequently be stretched by pulling on tab portions at ends of the attachment strips to cleanly separate the adhesive bonds between the attachment strips and the objects they had previously joined (e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,189 (Luhmann), U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,581 (Kreckel et al), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,962 (Bries et al)). While such stretch releasable attachment strips work well, the tab portion at the end of such a attachment strip joining two or more objects should be positioned where it can be engaged by a person who later wishes to separate the objects. One of the objects can be specially made with a removable portion that covers that tab portion (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,464, Hamerski et al), or, if one of the objects is flexible, that flexible object may be bent to afford access to that tab portion. In many instances where rigid objects are joined, however, it may be necessary to allow the tab portion to project from between the joined objects to afford such engagement with that tab portion to remove the stretchable attachment strip from between the objects. Such a projecting tab portion can be aesthetically objectionable for some applications.
German Patent Publication DE 43 39 604 dated May 24, 1995, describes a tape structure that can be used to bond together the opposed surfaces of objects including rigid objects with no portion of the tape structure projecting from between the objects, and which subsequently affords separation of the objects by moving one of the objects relative to the other. That tape structure is described as an adhesive tape for separable adhesive joints made from a double-sided adhesive tape which has adhesive areas on opposing sides at an offset which are not adherent, whereby the non adherent areas do not, or only slightly overlap, and which allow the adhesive joint made with:them to be separated by pulling apart the non-adhesive areas, particularly by pulling in the direction of the adhesive plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,642 (Langford) discloses a tape structure that can be used to bond together the opposed surfaces of objects including rigid objects (e.g., bond a plaque or framed picture to a wall) with no portion of the tape structure projecting from between the objects, and which subsequently affords easy separation of the objects without damage to either of them. That tape structure comprises an internally separable layer having opposite major anchor surfaces. The anchor surfaces are adapted to be bonded to the opposed surfaces of objects (e.g., by layers of pressure sensitive or other types of adhesive on the anchor surfaces or by other means such as heat fusion or the use of stretch releasable attachment strips as is described below). The internally separable layer has an internal static shear strength in a direction parallel to its anchor surfaces that is adapted to support one of the objects to which it is attached from the other with its anchor surfaces vertically disposed (e.g., preferably has a static shear strength parallel to its anchor surfaces that is about equal to or exceeds the maximum static shear strength that pressure sensitive adhesive will develop with normal surfaces to which it can be adhered), and has an internal dynamic tensile strength in a direction generally normal to its anchor surfaces that will afford internal separation of the separable layer by pulling apart the objects it has joined without damaging the surfaces of those objects. In an embodiment of that laminate adapted to be easily and cleanly removed from one or both of the objects it attaches together, the laminate comprises one or two stretch releasable attachment strips each having an outer surface defined by pressure sensitive adhesive that can be adhered to an object and being stretchable by being manually pulled at an end tab portion to release adhesive engagement of its outer surface to an object to which it has been adhered.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,867 (Hamerski et al) describes structures that can be used to bond together the opposed surfaces of objects including rigid objects (e.g., to bond plaques or framed pictures to walls) with no portion of the tape structures projecting from between the objects, and which subsequently affords easy separation of those objects without damage to either of them. That structure is a tape laminate comprising a support layer having opposite major surfaces, first and second parts, and an anchor portion of one of its major surfaces on each of those parts. The first and second parts of the support layer are disposed with the anchor portions on opposite sides of the support layer and in generally parallel relationship. Means are provided for bonding the anchor portions to the opposed surfaces of rigid objects so that the tape laminate can support one object from the other against a static force generally parallel to the anchor portions. That means for bonding comprises a first attachment strip having inner and outer opposite major surfaces extending between its ends and comprising a first layer of adhesive defining at least a portion of its outer major surface with its inner major surface being bonded to the anchor portion on the first part. Means including a tab portion are provided for affording stretching of the first attaching strip by manually pulling on the tab portion to release adhesive engagement of the first layer of adhesive from an object to which the outer major surface of the first layer of adhesive is adhered. Also, separating means are provided for affording separation of the first and second parts of the support layer and thereby sufficient separation of rigid objects to which the anchor portions are bonded by the means for bonding with the tab portion therebetween to afford access to the tab portion and release of adhesive engagement of the first layer of adhesive from one of the rigid objects by manually stretching the attachment strip.
In one embodiment of that tape laminate, the anchor portions are both portions of the same major surface of the support layer, and the support layer is folded between its first and second parts to position the anchor portions on opposite sides of the support layer. The fold in the support layer affords pivotal movement of the first and second parts away from each other to provide the means for affording separation of the first and second parts of the support layer. Additionally, when the support layer is made from a material that can be torn, it can be torn along the fold to provide alternative means for affording separation of the first and second parts of the support layer. Thus, the tape laminate can be used, for example, to hang a picture on a wall. One of the anchor portions is attached (i.e., attached with permanent adhesive, mechanical fasteners, a stretch release attachment strip or otherwise) to the rear surface of the picture with the fold along the top edge of the picture. The other attachment portion is adhered to the wall by the stretch release attachment strip. The picture overlays all of the tape laminate so that it is not visible while it supports the picture on the wall. When removal of the picture from the wall is desired, the bottom edge of the picture is swung away from the wall. The tape laminate serves as a hinge and the parts of the tape laminate separate around the fold in the support layer. The person removing the picture can then grab the now exposed tab on the attachment strip and stretch it to remove the picture and tape laminate from the wall. This attachment and removal is done without any damage or marking of the wall or damage to the picture.
In an alternative embodiment of the tape laminate, each of the anchor portions is a portion of a different one of the opposite major surfaces of the support layer, and the support layer is generally planar to thereby position the anchor portions on opposite sides of the support layer. The support layer is adapted (e.g., perforated or scored) to be manually torn between the parts to provide the means for affording separation of the first and second parts of the support layer.
The present invention is an effective, simple, and versatile tape laminate adapted to support or locate an object along a substrate.
The tape laminate according to the present invention includes a support layer of strong, flexible, conformable, essentially non stretchable material; and an attachment strip comprising a first layer of stretch release adhesive defining a first major surface of the attachment strip and adapted to adhere the attachment strip to a substrate. A second major surface of the attachment strip is firmly attached to one of the major surfaces of the support layer, and a tab portion is provided at one end of the attachment strip that may be manually pulled to stretch the layer of stretch release adhesive and thereby release adhesive engagement of the layer of stretch release adhesive from the substrate to which it is adhered.
In one embodiment, consisting only of the conformable support layer and the attachment strip, the tape laminate can be used to support or locate an object along a substrate (e.g., along a vertical wall) by conforming and adhering the tape laminate to adjacent portions of the object and of the wall. The support layer will support the object and prevent the adhesive from being stretched by the weight of the object, whereas the tape laminate can be removed from the object and the wall by manually pulling on the tab portion to sequentially stretch the stretch release adhesive.
In other embodiments, the tape laminate further includes means for facilitating engagement of objects to be supported by the tape laminate.
In one such embodiment that means is provided by the tape laminate further including a fastener comprising first and second releasably engageable portions, with the portions of the fastener being attached at opposite ends of the support layer. The conformable support layer can be wrapped around one or more elongate members (e.g., one or a bundle of electrical wires or pipes), the fastener portions can be engaged, and the support layer can be adhered to a substrate (e.g., a wall or floor) by the layer of stretch release adhesive so that the tape laminate supports and/or locates the elongate member along that substrate. Removal of the tape laminate from that substrate then only requires manually pulling on the tab portion to sequentially stretch the stretch release adhesive.
In another such embodiment that means is provided by the tape laminate further including an elongate attachment member (e.g., a twist tie, cable tie, or elastic band) extending transversely across and adjacent the major surface of the support layer to which the attachment strip is firmly attached. Portions of the elongate attachment member project past the opposite edges of the support layer and are engaged or adapted to be engaged on the side of the support layer opposite the attachment strip to support or locate an object along that side of the support layer.
In yet another such embodiment that means is provided by the tape laminate further including a rigid hook attached at one end of the support layer on the side of the support layer opposite the attachment strip. The hook is adapted to support or locate an object along the side of the support layer opposite the attachment strip.